Search form

Obamacare Plans Could See Double-Digit Rate Hikes

MIKE BLAKE

By Michael Rainey

March 27, 2018

MOST POPULAR

Congress failed to include an Obamacare stabilization package in the omnibus spending bill, and you can expect to see big price hikes for health care plans sold on the Obamacare exchanges in 2019, according to Politico’s Paul Demko.

Health care price inflation is expected to drive prices higher by 3 percent to 5 percent, and the repeal of the individual mandate could add as much as 10 percent more. The Trump administration’s plan to allow cheaper, skimpier health care plans could also be a factor, as insurers raise prices to deal with the less healthy pool of customers who would likely remain in the Obamacare plans.

Insurance companies are developing their 2019 plans now, and Congress isn’t expected to make significant changes to the Obamacare system in the next few months. But the politics of any perceived health care failures may play out differently this time, Demko says. In control of both Congress and the White House, Republicans may end up taking the heat for any headline-grabbing rate hikes.